Hurt and Confused

Hello my name is Brian, and i was hurt with my back on the job in May 6th, 2010 and was off work for four days . There was a claim filed at work and was release to work with limitations with light duty from my Doctor. i was the production manager and we only work three days a week and that was shared work . But the doctor told me my back could take up to 6 months before healed 100%,,, So I went back to work with limitation and light duty with a lot of Pain.. In October the Company shut down and plant manager told me if i need any help with my back to call Comp Ins... out of springfield... So i drawed unemployment till the End of year 2010. With my back still hurting and getting worse, i tryed to call comp and they said there was no claim ever reported so i seeked a lawyer's help and he said he would file a claim for WorkComp to get onboard Hearing. In july we had a Deposition Hearing and natually the comp lawyer brought into evidense three Documents that the first Document was about Doctors statement for injury on April 28 th .... Which from my Medical records show , There is no such date... Fake ? The second Document was for May 10 th that i claimed that is true and it says just like i said light duty with limitations and Doctors recomends Tharaphy. and this was in My Medical Records . The third Document was for May 13th a Full Release with no Limitation 100% just two days after i got the first Light duty Release. " This i contest this " because my work records would show that i did worked a Full week Returned 32 hours from Tuesday 11 th throuh Fryday 14 th and could not be at no Doctor's Office on May 13, and copy of my time cards that was punch in and out from work would prove this ... So now I know the Doctor is close Friends with the Plant Owner and Believe that he faxed her this Release without my knowledge, and without seeing me in person. That is why the Third Document is not in my Medical Records. My lawyer still has me on hold and it is hard to get Medical treatment when you can't work and can't afford to Pay. So i had to borrow money for a MRI out of Springfield mo. and says Bulging disc at L4, L5 PRESSING AGAINST THECAL SAC Nerve causing Lumbar Stenosis , so still waiting for Comp ins , to help me or get onboard so i can get Medical help. The Lawyer continues with next hearing in September so i have been borrowing money from all my enlaws to try a Chiropractor with Decompression Tharaphy 10 visits so far and Don't seem to be helping but will need more treatment, money is really getting hard to borrow when you dont have a job. Second week of October my Lawyer calls and ask if i had a Raiting yet ,, like i was seeing a Medical Doctor . He knows what i have been doing and trying to pay my own Medical Bills , with my wife getting ssi Disability from Cancer and Copd. Im Trying to get back to work to help her with household Bills and Medical Bills. I have over 20 years in the Boating Welding Industry and just need relief to get back to work.. Went to Hearing today and still not seen a Judge ever. So my Lawyer told me that Comp insurance wants to Settle this , with one amount on one Check.. and then ask me about a Raiting again for a further settlement hearing . Im not a Lawyer but this case is not feeling wright.. Wondering if my Lawyer is working for the insurance company instead of me.. ,,, "you know im just still waiting for Medical treatment " ... and my weekly check ? , its been 10 months since he filed the claim... three times for hearing dates but never seen the judge ,,,,, no medical treatment yet or loss wages yet , lawyer also wants me to pay for Deposition that he's never used in front of a judge yet , either thow , two out of three Documents are Fraud Documents with our proof .... I called Lawyer up and told him the amount that i would settled for on Oct 26 th,, He said he would write this up and Present it to the Comp. Lawyer ,, it's been two months and still waiting ,, it does not seem wright , applied for several jobs to take a chance and they say , not good with Background check with a Open I njury claim ... just asking for advise if you could help me out in any way ,,, i need either medical Treatment and my wages or a settling offer so i can continue Medical tratment so i can go back to work.. Now is Febuary and suppose to have Mediation Hearing Next week with a Jaudge,, now the Lawyer just call and ask if I would settle for 4500 hundred dollars and that there comp lawyer is admitting to some injury fault about 5% Rating and if I would settled for this .. My lawyer is not wanting me to see the Judge for some reason,, he said I did not have to be there ,,,,, whats up with this...... im feeling i need to be looking for another Lawyer if you can help or give me your opinion ,,, please ! Thank you .

P.S.

should i fire my attorney or just get legal help else where.. What should i do?

Re: Hurt and Confused

Long blocks of text are hard to read will discourage responses. In the future, hit the enter key a few times.

I hate to suggest that you fire your attorney at this late date. You clearly need one. But if you fire your current attorney, any new attorney will need some time to get up to sped on your case and that would almost certainly mean postponing next week's mediation hearing. And more delay in your case.

You really need to sit down with your attorney and get an understanding of the issues in your case. I strongly suspect that there is some medical issue on whether the MRI findings were the result of the injury since the test itself was so long after the injury occurred.. Probably most people over the age of 35 will have some MRI findings that might be considered significant, even if there is NO history of a back injury.

Depositions are not usually entered into court proceedings. If the person who gave the depo later testified in court, it might be used to impeach his testimony if he said something different at the depo.

Re: Hurt and Confused

I am not an attorney and, while I have worked in this field, it was not in MO. WC is VERY state specific. To my knowledge, no MO WC attorneys follow these boards.

I am going to refrain from telling you what to do.

Your attorney works for you. Most WC attorneys do have lots of clients and can be pretty busy. Nevertheless, I suggest that you try to meet with him or her before the mediation. Try to get an understanding of the contoversy in your case and what its LEGAL strengths and weaknesses may be. Do more listening than talking. I know that it is hard, but you are not going to become "unconfused" if you don't do some listening. In particular, when your attorney explains the other side's "position" on your claim, try not to get upset or emotional at what you perceive to be the "lies". Many WC cases have these issues. Most the of "players" have seen it before, even if you have not.

If you refuse to settle because the other side won't budge (or budge enough) from its low offer at mediation, ask what happens next? How long does it take before you actually goes before a WC judge? And, then, get an honest answer about what your attorney believes will happen if you go before a WC judge. Please note that your attorney cannot absolutely predict the outcome. But, he or she should have some experience with the local WC judges and at least have an idea of how they might see your case. I know you want to think that you have a slam dunk case, but you need to prepared to hear that may be you don't. Several things went wrong in the beginning and it may not be possible to completely undo all of it.

Ultimately your attorney works for you. If you don't feel you are getting adequate representation then you do have the right to discharge him or her. However, you will need to retain a new attorney as you really are way too confused to do this on your own. No new attorney that you engage at this point is going to be able to represent you at next week's mediation. Heck, you probably won't even get an appt that quickly. So you are looking at a continuance. If you do decide to go with a new attorney, your current attorney can probably file the request for a continuance on the basis that you have relieved him or her as counsel, but you need a little time to find new representation. This one probably also happens a bit more often than you realize and the system will treat it as a routine event.

Don't let the grass grown under your feet, however. Also, do understand that your current attorney may still be entitled to a lien on your recovery for the work done to date. (This one is somewhat state specific, so ask about that one.)

Regional Sites

Other Resources

Connect with Us

Disclaimer: The information provided on Lawyers.com is not legal advice, Lawyers.com is not a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or should be formed by use of the site. The attorney listings on Lawyers.com are paid attorney advertisements and do not in any way constitute a referral or endorsement by Lawyers.com or any approved or authorized lawyer referral service. Your access of/to and use of this site is subject to additional Terms and Conditions.

Martindale-Hubbell and martindale.com are registered trademarks; AV, BV, AV Preeminent and BV Distinguished are registered certification marks; Lawyers.com and the Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rated Icon are service marks; and Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings are trademarks of Internet Brands, Inc., used under license. Other products and services may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.